Brothers, not rivals

As a quarterback at West Platte High School in Weston, Adam Barmann often looked for his younger brother, Brian, on pass patterns.

The Barmann tandem helped West Platte become one of the most successful programs in the state, winning a title in Missouri’s Class 1A division in 2001. If Adam connected on a pass to Brian on Saturday, however, his fans wouldn’t cheer.

Adam, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound sophomore, elected to play football at Kansas while Brian chose to stay in state. Even though they play for rival schools, their relationship hasn’t changed.

“Brian and I are basically best friends,” Adam said in a telephone interview.

“I don’t see him as much as I did, but we’re brothers. No matter how far away he is, no matter how far away I am, we’ll never lose that bond that we have between each other. We could be apart for two or three months and come back, and it would be like it was yesterday. We’re just that close.”

Saturday will be the first time since high school the two will be on the same football field. Neither brother, though, will likely play when the teams meet Saturday in Columbia’s Memorial Stadium. They’ll have to be satisfied with encouraging their teammates.

Adam, who started four games last year as a freshman, injured his shoulder in a 13-7 loss Oct. 30 at Iowa State. Brian, who has switched to tight end since coming to Missouri, is buried on the depth chart and will likely take a redshirt.

Adam has thrown for 1,427 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

In the 2001 championship, a 20-13 defeat of Lockwood, Adam made five of his eight completions to Brian, including two for touchdowns. That game capped an excellent season in which he passed for more than 2,300 yards and 20 touchdowns. Adam was named to the all-state and all-district teams for his junior and senior seasons. Brian was his favorite receiver, catching 1,841 of the yards.

The season also earned Adam recruiting attention from Kansas and Missouri. He eventually signed to play football in Lawrence, Kan., but said Missouri represented his No. 1 choice.

“For a while, I really thought I was going to go to Missouri,” he said. “I went to a Purdue (quarterback) camp when I was in high school, and their quarterback coach came up there, and I talked to him a little bit. At that time, I really thought I was going to go to Missouri, but things didn’t work out the way that I thought they were going to, so I just ended up coming to Kansas.”

Although Adam plays for the Jayhawks and Brian is experiencing his first year with the Tigers, having the two rivals represented in one home doesn’t create too much animosity.

“The first time I started following Kansas and Missouri was about the time when I started getting recruited,” Adam said. “I guess a lot of people see it as a rivalry, but once you get in, it is a big rivalry. But to me, it’s never been as important as it is to some of the people from my area make it out to be.”